Microsoft Saved Apple - The Biggest Myth in Tech History

I'm sure we've all heard it at least once: "Microsoft saved Apple from Bankruptcy in 1997." It refers to an investment Microsoft made in Apple that was announced at Macworld 1997, not long after Steve Jobs returned to the company. But this depiction of events has been heavily mythologized over the years. The truth is, even though Apple was going bankrupt, they didn't need Microsoft's help to stay around. And today's video explains why!

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Some materials in this video are used under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, which allows "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, commenting, news reporting, teaching, and research.

#MichaelMJD #Microsoft #Apple

[alephcake]

Michael MJD: The best documentaries about tech topics under the interwebs.

[apetersenTV]

The best quote of this whole video would definitely be at 13:07:
"Giving money to a smaller company (to keep them in business) *DOES NOT PROVE YOU ARE NOT A MONOPOLY."*
Best tech documentary I've ever watched on YouTube.

[dungeonseeker]

Imagine how the guy who made that comment feels after getting destroyed so succinctly and vehemently.

[melonademan]

It’s depressing that Michael has to put a disclaimer at the beginning of the video telling people that he isn’t an Apple Sheep or whatever. People can be so needlessly toxic these days simply because of a video or anything else relating to Apple or simply just mentioning it... 🙄

[contentplex]

This video was worth my 24:47 minutes. This is a well-made documentary.

[riptilius]

My knowledge about Apple's end 90's history, has been incredibly increased after I watched your video!:)

[mindright]

Well said. I was living right in the middle of this whole ordeal with Apple and Microsoft’s Antitrust investigation. I was working as a beta tester for Stac Electronics at the time. This was another company Microsoft attempted to shaft by stealing their patented disk doubling technology from as well as squeezing Netscape right out of the browser market. Netscape, of whom I also did work for, was a highly successful internet browser company of which Microsoft completely miscalculated as they totally overlooked the internet’s significance at the time.. Microsoft had to do something quick which meant pushing their Internet Explorer Software on OEM’s and bundling their browser into Windows for free in order to kill Netscape’s $39.99 software charge. Microsoft was a big behemoth and a bully so I was glad the DoJ stepped in and scared Microsoft straight (to an extent). It amazes me that people born after the fact think they know more about what was going on during this time period when I lived and worked right in the middle of it all. Your story is the most factual, in-depth and to the point I have read concerning what actually happened. You certainly did your homework and I commend you for your thoroughness and unbiased reporting.

[craigkoller]

Yup. This is how it went down. Video for Windows was a joke, then allofasudden it got usable... hmm. Apple was a jumbled mess of different technologies and initiatives that Jobs had to wrangle, but they DID have some pretty exciting tech stashed away in different corners. And Quicktime was a jewel in the crown. Quicktime definitely helped save Apple for numerous reasons.

[harshmotwani]

This is probably one of the most widely accepted misconceptions in the world! Even some of the most well informed experts count this as a fact! Glad you cleared the air.

[Robersora]

I only ever heard about this rumor in passing and was like "this makes no sense" Thanks for clearing this up.
Also, mega-groovy outro!

[StevenSmyth]

Michael this video is spot on, but Steve always spun it like MS saved Apple, so he could increase the company's street cred in the industry. When Time magazine reported on the deal, Steve was on the cover next to the caption, "Bill, Thank you. The world's a better place." They did accurately report that Apple was still in trouble, and they would have to pivot. Fortunately, Steve cut the product line and introduced the iMac and the PowerBook G3.

[Dhamerian]

The more you know! The myth of the Microsoft investment was the story i was always told by magazines and other YouTubers over the last years, awesome to hear a clarification on the matter with more details.

Great job on the investigation and editing!

[MaskedGEEK]

I knew that the anti-trust lawsuit had nothing to do with Apple, and I vaguely remembered some kind of lawsuit between Microsoft and Apple involving piracy. Thank you for clarifying it Michael. 😁👍

[Beefnhammer]

This is all correct. I'm the furthest thing from an Apple fan, but what saved them was Steve Jobs and his leadership, as well as the first totally new product Apple developed under Jobs: the iPod. Apple wouldn't be what they are today without that thing.

[xorcist]

never even knew of these events at all, but I can really just 100% tell that you know what you're talking about. excellent video.

[rogehmarbi]

The fact they called $150 MILLION worth of money only as "symbolic" and "public relations only" sends shivers down my spine. Those big players really have a lot of cash aren't they?

Also, this is the best retrospective video I've ever seen around here, hands down. Clear, concise, sound, really well edited. Extremely well made.

[DeepfriedChips]

“With more than 200 upvotes”
Hey Michael, this ain’t reddit

[jmtrad]

13:08 Google Chrome looking at Firefox
*sweating*

[bearthechair]

Moral of the story: Microsoft didn't save Apple, Steve Jobs did

[Strmcrash]

Awesome video. The Jobs statement about being 90 days from bankruptcy might be somewhat hyperbolic, but from accounts I've read there was a point where Gil Amelio really was racing the clock to complete a round of bond sale (debentures) before Apple ran out of cash on hand and would have been forced to file for bankruptcy. They got a bit of a break when sales picked up but it was still a close run thing. The timescale for the sale was extremely compressed to the point Amelio couldn't do the normal sales pitch trips and had to do it in one bit conference call to investors